Saturday, July 19, 2014

Iftar(s)

Abu Dhabi is well renowned for it's brunch buffet culture... It can quickly become a favorite event for most expats, especially if you add the 'all you can drink' in the mix, if ya know what I mean.
You must understand...after visiting all the touristy sites several times, shopping all you can possibly store in your 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, checking out all the carefully censored cinemas, frying up next to the pool or white sandy beaches until you seriously start to worry about skin disease, trying out all the boating/canoeing/paddle boarding/dolphin sitings, at least one time each cos those things can get pretty expensive, all there is left to do is EAT! And trust me, there is plenty to choose from!!!

But I deviated from the original course here most likely blame it on the boredom.

What I really wanted to tell you about, is the month of Ramadan. It is a truly spiritual experience, and whether you are fasting or not, it's a great time for reflection, generosity, kindness and self improvement. I do have a lot of appreciation for all who do fast and manage to keep up with their regular every day activities. I hope it is clear that I am by no means trying to be disrespectful, ironic or out of place with this post.

But... the food!!! Breaking the fast at Iftar is when buffet dinners suffer some sort of crazy mutation! Everywhere you go there is one and they go all out!

Come 19:15, after the prayer, everybody starts running in a hungry haze, piling up plates on top of plates of every possible flavor combinations...not waiting for turns, like appetizer - main dish - dessert, but instead grabbing as much of each, whether they could stomach it or not!

It takes a lot of restrain (still didn't manage to fully accomplish this) to not try out 'a little bit of everything' when you find yourself in the same race to the buffet as everyone else around and the colors, arrangements, aromas and names of each food platter invites you like there is no tomorrow!

This often results in extremely wasteful behavior, people stuffed to the point of immobilization, non-reactive, slow conversations and some pretty crowded restrooms, excuse ma' french!

All this does not mean Iftar feels less like a festive, ceremonious time to be shared with dear ones with generosity and complete appreciation, but... the food!!!

I would not say I did not enjoy a couple or a few of these specific evening celebrations, but every single time I am left with the same thought: was that really necessary?! I could also never say I am not a very wasteful person myself as my husband could testify to that, but still...I must go back to all the waste that happens in most of these hotel restaurants, all the fancy food being thrown away just because it has to 'look nice', be plentiful and why not just say it, because most of us have no restraint.

Sometimes it scares me a bit to share my opinions in a direct manner such as this, mainly because I am not a fan of generalizing or exaggerating facts for the sake of fun, but then...sometimes you just have to say it like you see it!

Now, if you are somewhat hungry, do yourself a nice favor and skip all the visual documentation that is about to follow... *hint* It's a lot of foooood!!!

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